30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended nearly four years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, marks its 30th anniversary this week. While the accord brought an end to the bloodshed, it also left the country with a highly complex and often dysfunctional political system.
A War That Began in 1992
The Bosnian War erupted on 6 April 1992 when Serb forces attacked Bosniaks, shortly after Bosnia and Herzegovina held an independence referendum. The vast majority of voters backed independence, while most Serbs boycotted the vote.
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serb nationalist forces, supported by the Yugoslav Army, launched a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Serb populations. Over the course of the war:
More than 2 million people were displaced.
Over 300,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
Some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II took place, including the Srebrenica genocide, where over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered.
The Dayton Peace Agreement
After lengthy negotiations in the United States, the agreement was initialed in Dayton, Ohio, on 21 November 1995 and formally signed in Paris on 14 December 1995 by:
Alija Izetbegović, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia
Franjo Tuđman, President of Croatia
The accord divided Bosnia and Herzegovina into two entities:
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH), populated mostly by Bosniaks and Croats
The Republika Srpska (RS), dominated by Serbs
and granted special status to the Brčko District.
The country was given a unique power-sharing structure, with a three-member Presidency (Bosniak, Croat, Serb), whose members are elected for four-year terms and rotate the chairmanship every eight months.
A Complicated Political System
Dayton established a system that is frequently criticized for inefficiency. Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina has:
5 presidents (including entity-level positions)
13 prime ministers
Over 130 ministers
This multilayered structure often results in political deadlock. Even minor legislation requires approval from representatives of all three constituent peoples, making decision-making—especially on foreign policy—slow and difficult.
Controversies and Calls for Reform
Nearly all political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina refer to Dayton when shaping their political agendas—either to defend it or to challenge it.
Republika Srpska’s former president, Milorad Dodik, has long advocated for greater autonomy and has repeatedly threatened secession. After rejecting the authority of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and its head, Christian Schmidt, Dodik was:
Sentenced to one year in prison,
Issued a six-year political ban,
And unanimously removed from office by the Central Election Commission.
Bosniak leaders argue that Dodik’s secessionist rhetoric is an attempt to dismantle the constitutional order established under Dayton.
The Legacy of Dayton
Bosnia’s founding president, Alija Izetbegović, famously summarized the agreement with the words:
“This is not a just peace, but it is more just than a continuation of war. Given the circumstances and the world as it is, a better peace could not have been achieved.”
Thirty years later, many in Bosnia and Herzegovina believe that the agreement—while essential in 1995—has reached its limits and must be updated to enable a more functional political system.
